Amid the glitter of gowns, carefully rehearsed speeches, and the tension of the major categories, there is always a moment at the Oscars when the spectacle slows down. The lights dim, the music shifts in tone, and the entire theater seems to breathe differently. It is the In Memoriam segment, when the Academy remembers the artists of the film industry who died over the past year.

Traditionally, it is the most emotional pause of the ceremony. In 2026, however, the segment is expected to carry even greater weight. Not only because of the number of major figures the film world has recently lost, but also because the Academy appears to be preparing specific tributes for some of them.

This year’s In Memoriam may end up functioning almost as a collective portrait of the end of a generation in Hollywood.

A list that represents an era of cinema

Among the artists expected to be honored are figures who helped define American cinema across decades. Names such as Robert Redford, Gene Hackman, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, and Rob Reiner belong to a generation that witnessed—and shaped—the transformation of American cinema between the 1960s and the 1980s.

These actors and filmmakers are closely associated with what became known as New Hollywood, a period when the industry reinvented itself through more complex storytelling, morally ambiguous characters, and directors who gained greater artistic autonomy within the studio system.

When losses of this magnitude occur in quick succession, their impact goes beyond individual filmographies. What emerges instead is the sense of farewell to a particular chapter in the history of cinema.

Barbra Streisand may sing for Robert Redford

Among the tributes circulating in Hollywood circles, one of the most talked about involves Barbra Streisand.

According to reports published by the Page Six column, the singer and actress is in talks to take the stage during the In Memoriam segment to perform a tribute to her former co-star Robert Redford.

The two starred together in one of the most memorable romantic dramas of the 1970s, The Way We Were, directed by Sydney Pollack. If the appearance is confirmed, Streisand is expected to perform the film’s iconic title song, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1974 and later became one of Hollywood’s most enduring classics.

Redford died in September 2025 at the age of 89, bringing to a close a career that included landmark films such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President’s Men, and The Sting, as well as an Academy Award for directing Ordinary People.

Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan are expected to honor Rob Reiner

Another tribute reportedly being prepared centers on director Rob Reiner.

According to the same backstage reports, actors Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan are expected to reunite on the Oscars stage to remember the filmmaker responsible for some of the most beloved films in American popular culture.

Reiner directed classics such as When Harry Met Sally…, Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, and This Is Spinal Tap. The presence of Crystal and Ryan carries particular significance, as the two starred in the 1989 romantic comedy that became a defining film of the genre.

Reiner’s death, under tragic circumstances that shocked Hollywood, turned his passing into one of the most widely discussed stories in the industry over the past year.

The Oscars as a ritual of memory

Over the decades, the In Memoriam segment has become one of the ceremony’s most symbolic moments. Unlike the competitive categories, which celebrate the presence of the industry, this sequence functions as a space for collective remembrance.

It is not unusual for musical performances or unexpected appearances to deepen the emotional resonance of the segment. In 2013, for instance, Barbra Streisand herself performed The Way We Were during the Oscars in a tribute to composer Marvin Hamlisch.

If she returns to the stage in 2026 to sing the same song, now dedicated to Robert Redford, the gesture would carry an almost circular meaning within the history of the ceremony itself.

In a year marked by so many important farewells, the In Memoriam could become the most powerful moment of the entire night. Not only because of the nostalgia it evokes, but because it may capture the feeling that an entire generation of Hollywood is being remembered at once.